Double Relief

During the Victorian era, there were many sieges, some small, some large, some lasting several days and others many months. Not all sieges resulted in medals or clasps to medals and the details of the defence or relief or a particular town or fort might best be dealt with in subsequent individual blogs. This blog relates to the concentration of sieges occurring at the end of Victoria’s reign and medals to men and women who were involved.

For the collector of British medals of the late Victorian era, there are quite a few opportunities to acquire medals to men who earned clasps for the relief of more than one besieged town or fort. In the space of a little more than 5 years, three campaign medals with clasps awarded for five separate relief expeditions were awarded. I am referring to Chitral in 1895 and Kimberley, Ladysmith, Mafeking and Pekin in 1900.

The period between the reliefs and the distance between the towns ranged from less than 3 months and 400 miles when one thinks of the Ladysmith/Mafeking combination to a more prolonged period of 5 years and over 5,200 miles between Chitral and Ladysmith or Kimberley. However, I think the combination of Ladysmith and Pekin less than 4 months apart and over 7,200 miles distant from each other gives a whole new meaning to a war on two fronts. In this blog, I will provide a brief summary of each relief and offer some examples of “double relief” awards.

image courtesy of DNW

image courtesy of DNW

The Relief Of Chitral, March 1895

The fort at Chitral offered protection to about 350 troops primarily consisting of the 14th Sikhs and the 4th Kashmir Rifles. The besiegers amounted to between 2,000 and 5,000 and the siege lasted approximately 7 weeks. The size of the relief force (greater than 15,000) made this one of the more common clasps of the India 1895 medal

The Relief Of Kimberley, February 1900

The most prominent citizen of the town, Cecil Rhodes had been applying so much pressure to the British Government for relief that the strategy of the British Forces was amended so that the town could be relieved as a top priority and this was the shortest of the three major sieges during the Anglo-Boer War. Of the three towns besieged at the outbreak of the war, the citizens of Kimberley were well fed and suffered least by comparison.

The Relief Of Ladysmith, February 1900

Ladysmith which was arguably the most important of the three towns owing to the number of British and Colonial troops trapped in the town was relieved at the end of the month. After a siege lasting 4 months, the garrison occupants were starving, many of the horses had been used for food and there were many deaths from disease.

image courtesy of DNW

The Relief Of Mafeking, May 1900

Mafeking was the last of the three major besieged settlements to be relieved. The garrison had been commanded by RobertBaden-Powell who later founded the Boy scouts and much the subject of much news given the fact that there were several war correspondents trapped in the town who managed to make sure that the news got out. The town wasn’t of strategic importance but after a well publicized ordeal lasting 7 months, it was a morale booster for the British and when the news of the relief hit home there was much celebration in the streets. In fact a new word entered the vocabulary “maffick” which was defined as: to celebrate with boisterous rejoicing and hilarious behavior. In one of his short stories, Saki includes “Mother may I go and maffick, Tear around and hinder traffic?”

The clasp is highly sought after by collectors and is the third scarcest of the QSA clasps (after Defence of Mafeking and Wepener) It was issued primarily to colonial troops and is often paired with another scarce clasp “Rhodesia”

Although the subject of the blog is about double reliefs and this clasp is sometimes seen paired with Relief of Ladysmith (about half the double relief medals were awarded to Barton’s Fusilier Brigade) it is also seen paired with Defence of Ladysmith or Defence of Kimberley which in themselves are interesting combinations of clasps found on the same medal. The double relief medals to one of Barton’s Brigade are highly sought after by collectors and a recent sighting of one on an English dealer’s site had a price tag of £900.

The Relief Of Pekin, June – August 1900

The boxer rebellion was a violent anti foreigner uprising that took place at the end of the Qing dynasty. On 30 May the diplomats, requested that foreign soldiers come to Beijing to defend the legations. The initial attempt to strengthen the International Legation in June was met with serious opposition and the small British force who had vastly under estimated the Chinese, ultimately retreated and had to wait for reinforcements before a further relief attempt could take place. The result was a delayed relief and a 55 day siege.

Only 88 medals with this clasp were awarded to men from HMS Terrible who had also been awarded a Relief of Ladysmith clasp on a QSA after qualifying for that clasp on another continent a few months earlier.

1 Comment

Very nice blog Jim, quite interesting to see things in the light you illustrated, never thought about it that much this way. You need to write one about ‘Double Defences’ – if there are any? Or just ‘Defences’ would be interesting as well.

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Capt Sir Alexander Gordon, KCB

Received the Small Naval Gold medal for Lissa, and also claimed this NGS clasp along with six other clasps. One of 3 confirmed 7 clasp NGS medals. Served on the ‘Flag Officer’s Committee” overseeing the institution of the NGS medal 1847-50. For more details see: O’Byrne (1949)

KCB 2 Jan 1815, Kt.B 29 Jun 1815, GCB 5 Jul 1855
Died on 8 Jan 1869

Capt Sir Edward Hamilton, KCB

Received the Small Naval Gold medal for Surprise wh. Hermione, and claimed the NGS medal with clasp for this action as well. For more details see: O’Byrne (1849)

Kt.B 1 Feb 1800, KCB 2 Jan 1815, Bt 26 Jan 1819
Died on 21 Mar 1851

Capt John Talbot, KCB

Received the Small Naval Gold Medal for Victorious wh. Rivoli, and also claimed the NGS with this clasp. His medal group sold at Spink in Jun 1982. For more details see: O’Byrne (1849)

R-Adm Edward Codrington, GCB

R-Adm Sir George Cockburn, GCB

Claimed a six clasp NGS medal, supposedly the only medal issued to a Rear Admiral. The medal is in the NMM. For more details see: O’Byrne (1849).

KCB 2 Jan 1815, GCB 20 Feb 1818
Died on 19 Aug 1853

Sir Thomas Byam Martin, wearing the KCB star only, having been invested, but not installed in the Order yet.

R-Adm Sir Thomas Byam Martin, GCB

A veteran of the American Revolutionary War. As Captain of HMS Santa Margarita captured the French frigate Tamise, June 1796. Commanding HMS Fisgard he captured the French Immortalité off Tory Island in October 1798. In the Baltic in August 1808, as Captain of HMS Implacable, took part in the capture the Russian ship Sewolod. Served on the ‘Flag Officer’s Committee’ overseeing the institution of the NGS medal in 1847-50. For more details see: O’Byrne (1849).

Adm the Hon Sir Robert Stopford, GCB

Small Naval Gold medal for St. Domingo. He directed the operations that resulted in the capture of Java on 8 August 1811. His last active post, in his early seventies, was as commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean fleet during the Syrian War. Claimed the NGS medal with six clasps, the medal is in the NMM. Colonel of the Royal Marines on 9 November 1805. Governor of Greenwich Hospital from 1 May 1841 till his death. For more details see: O’Byrne (1849).

KCB 2 Jan 1815, GCB 6 Jun 1831, GCMG 10 May 1837
Died on 25 June 1847

Adm. Sir William James Whitshed, GCB

A veteran of the American Revolutionary War. Received the Small Naval Gold Medal for St. Vincent, which was stolen in 1900 from Greenwich Hospital (with Nelson’s Gold medals). Claimed the NGS medal with ‘St. Vincent’ clasp, the medal is in a private collection in the UK. Shown here as a GCB with Gold Medal. For more details see: O’Byrne (1849).

KCB 2 Jan 1815, GCB 17 Nov 1830
Died on 28 Oct 1849

The Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath

• Of the Knights appointed towards the end of the 18th and early 19th century there are a number of notable Naval Officers (list not complete):

Commander Thomas Wells, RN

Was made a Lieutenant on 6 July, 1795, and promoted to the rank for Commander on 26th November 1808. On the first of that month, being then acting in the Cruizer sloop, he engaged a Danish flotilla, near Gottenburgh, captured the cutter Lykkelig, of ten four-pounders, and compelled her consorts, about twenty in number, to take refuge under the island of Læsø. In the summer of 1811, he was appointed to the Phipps sloop; and on the 11th March 1812, we find him capturing Le Cerf, French lugger privateer, of five guns and thirty-one men. On the 4th May following, he assisted at the recapture of H.M. sloop Apelles. This officer died on the continent, in 1825.

The only information appearing to be available for this unclaimed clasp can be found in the London Gazette issue of 1849, where the approved NGS clasps were published:

Boats of ‘Fawn’ under Lieut. Morgan. Action with cutter and schooner ‘Guadaloupe’, and capture.

A search of the Navy List from 1793-1815 reveals a total of 18 commissioned officers with the surname of Morgan. Of these, 9 have a Lieutenant’s commission date after 25 July 1809 or died before that date and can be ruled out. Of the remaining, three died between 1817-22 before receiving a promotion and must also be ruled out. Out of the remaining six, four have entries in either Marshall’s or O’Byrne’s Naval Biographies, two with service records, but these two do not mention anything about the action, which would be highly unlikely if it resulted in the man’s promotion. This leaves four potential candidates, one being promoted as late as 1827, he is probably not the man. The remaining three were promoted to Commander between 1814-16, and could all have been the man in charge. Unfortunately, all died between 1817-43, and it’s not likely much biographical information on either of them can be found.

Name

Lieut

Cmd

Died

MORGAN, John Fortescue

15 Sep 1806

12 Oct 1814

9 Dec 1843

MORGAN, Thomas

10 May 1809

16 Nov 1814

Apr 1843

MORGAN, Charles

15 Jun 1781

1 Jan 1816

1817

MORGAN, James (1)

2 Sep 1783

25 Apr 1827

1835

One would have to search the muster books for HMS Fawn to identify who the Lieutenant was.